Buckles for safety belts



June 2, 1970 o. P. SAXMARK I 3,

BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS Filed Feb. 4, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 PIC-3.2

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June 2, 1970 o. P. SAXMARK 3,514,821

BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS Filed Feb. 4, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 StatesPatent 3,514,821 BUCKLES FOR SAFETY BELTS Olov Pontus Saxmark, Skarhamm,Sweden, assignor to AB Industrifjadrar, Monsteras, Sweden Filed Feb. 4,1969, Ser. No. 796,331

Int. Cl. A44b 11/25 U.S. Cl. 24-230 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA buckle for safety seat belts comprises a locking tongue and a bucklebody having a space for insertion of the locking tongue thereinto. Thebuckle body has a latch member pivoted thereto, and for retaining thelocking tongue in the buckle body the latch member 1s adapted to engagein a recess in the locking tongue at one longitudinal edge thereof. Thelatch member has cam means with which a projection provided in a sleevewhich is slidably mounted on the buckle body, is adapted to coact formoving the latch member out of latching position when the sleeve is slidalong the buckle body.

This invention relates to a buckle for safety belts for use inlandcraft, aircraft and seacraft, comprising one member in the form of alocking tongue and another member in the form of a buckle body having aspace for insertion of the locking tongue thereinto, said space beingdefined by two fixed plane surfaces spaced apart a distancesubstantially equal to the thickness of the locking tongue, and byguides extending between said plane surfaces for guiding thelongitudinal edges of the locking tongue, and a latch member pivoted tothe buckle body and adapted, for retaining the locking tongue to saidbody, to engage in a recess in the locking tongue at one longitudinaledge thereof. Characteristic of the buckle accord ing to the presentinvention is that the latch member has cam means with which a projectionprovided in a sleeve which is slidably mounted on the buckle body, isadapted to coact, and that the cam means of the latch member is soformed that the latch member is swung out of latching position when thesleeve is slid in one direction along the buckle body.

For greater clarity, the buckle will be more fully described in thefollowing with reference to the accompany drawings which schematicallyillustrate two embodiments, chosen by way of example, of the buckle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the buckle in one embodiment thereof, with thesleeve removed;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the buckle with the sleeve in position thereon;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the buckle in the other embodiment thereof,with the sleeve removed; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the buckle, with the sleeve shown in section.

The buckle comprises a locking tongue 1 and a body 2. The locking tongue1 is adapted for insertion into the buckle body 2 for retention of thetongue to the body 2 in the position fully inserted into the body.

The body 2 has a space 3 for the insertion of the locking tongue 1thereinto. Said space 3 is defined by two fixed plane surfaces 4 and 5spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the thickness of thelocking tongue 1, and by guides 6 extending between the plane surfaces 4and 5 for guiding the longitudinal edges of the locking tongue 1. Thefixed plane surfaces 4 and 5 of the body 2 are preferably formed by apair of plates which are held spaced by spacing members. The plates 4and 5 are interconnected by rivets 6 or like connecting means whichdirectly or indirectly form the guides for the longitudinal 3,514,821Patented June 2, 1970 I CC edges of the locking tongue 1. The connectingmeans designated 6 also forms the pivot axis for a latch member 7 whichis pivoted to the buckle body 2 and adapted, for retaining the lockingtongue 1 to the body 2, to engage in a recess 8 of the locking tongue 1at one longitudinal edge of the latter. Said retention is brought aboutonly when the locking tongue 1 has reached the position in which it isfully inserted into the buckle body 2. Said fully inserted position ofthe locking tongue is determined by the outermost connecting means 6with which an enlarged portion 9 of the locking tongue 1 is adapted tocoact.

In practice the locking tongue 1 is symmetrical with respect to itscenter line as counted in the direction of insertion so that it has onerecess 8 in each of its longitudinal edges. However the locking tongue 1is inserted into the space of the body 2 one recess 8 wi l always coactwith the latch member 7.

The latch member 7 has cam means 10 and 11, respectively, with which aprojection 13 provided in a sleeve 12 which is slidably mounted on thebuckle body 2, is adapted to coact. The cam means 10 and 11,respectively, is so formed that the latch member 7 is swung out oflatching position when the sleeve 12 is slid in one direction along thebody 2.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the cam means 10 is so formedthat the latch member 7 is swung out of latching position when thesleeve 12 is slid along the body 2 towards the opening of the space 3receiving the locking tongue 1. In this buckle the locking tongue 1 isprimarily intended for connection with one or more straps of the safetybelt, while the body 2 is to be secured to the floor structure of thevehicle. When the seat occupant pull the sleeve 12 towards himself thebuckle is thus released, which is important from the viewpoint ofsafety.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 the cam means 11 is soformed that the latch member 7 is swung out of latching position whenthe sleeve 12 is slid along the body 2 away from the opening of thespace 3 receiving the locking tongue 1. In this buckle the body 2 isprimarily intended for connection with one or more straps of the safetybelt, while the locking tongue 1 is to be secured to the floor structureof the vehicle. Also in this case the buckle is thus released when theseat occupant pulls the sleeve 12 towards himself.

The pivotally mounted latch member 7 cooperates with a spring 14 whichtends to swing the latch member into latching position. Against theaction of the spring, however, the latch member 7 is adapted to be swungout of latching position when the sleeve 12 is slid along the body 2. Ofcourse, the latch member 7 can also be moved aside against the action ofthe spring 14 by the locking tongue 1 when the latter is inserted intothe space 3 for retaining said tongue in the body 2.

The latch member 7 and the recess 8 of the locking tongue 1 are soconformed to each other that the latch member 7 tends to move in thelatching direction when the buckle is subjected to pull. Thus there isno risk that the buckle will open when the safety belt is subjected toload. On the other hand, the latch member 7 and the recess 8 are of sucha form that no large force is required for opening of the bucklealthough the safety belt is under load, eg when the seat occupant issuspended therein.

In the embodiments illustrated the portion 15 of the latch member 7which engages in the recess 8 of the locking tongue is curved and hasits center of curvature situated in the pivot axis 6' of the latchmember 7, while the part of the recess 8 in which the curved portion 15of the latch member 7 engages, is straight. The straight part makes anangle of somewhat more than 45 with the direction of insertion.

The plates 4 and 5 constituting the two plane surfaces of the space 3receiving the locking tongue 1 are provided with registeringlongitudinal slots 16 for the projection which is provided in the sleeve2 and formed by a pin 13 extending through the buckle body 2. The pinwill thus be guided in a reliable manner, and at the same time the endsof the slots 16 or one slot 16 will define at least to a certain extentthe extreme positions for the pivot movement of the latch member 7.

Modifications are possible within the scope of the ap pended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A buckle for safety belts for use in landcraft, aircraft andseacraft, comprising one member in the form of a locking tongue andanother member in the form of a buckle body having a space for insertionof the locking tongue there-into, said space being defined by two fixedplane surfaces spaced apart a distance substantially equal to thethickness of the locking tongue, and by guides extending between saidplane surfaces for guiding the longitudinal edges of the locking tongue,and a latch member pivoted to the buckle body and adapted, for retainingthe locking tongue to said body, to engage in a recess in the lockingtongue at one longitudinal edge thereof, wherein the latch member hascam means with which a projection provided in a sleeve which is slidablymounted on the buckle body, is adapted to coact, and the cam means ofthe latch member is so formed that the latch member is swung out oflatching position when the sleeve is slid in one direction along thebuckle body.

2. A buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam means is so formedthat the latch member is swung out of latching position when the sleeveis slid along the buckle body towards the opening of the space receivingthe locking tonage.

3. A buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the cam means is so formedthat the latch member is swung out of latching position when the sleeveis slid along the buckle body away from the opening of the spacereceiving the locking tongue.

4. A buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the pivotally mounted latchmember cooperates with a spring which tends to swing the latch member tolatching position, but the latch member is adapted to be swung out oflatching position against the action of the spring when the sleeve isslid along the buckle body.

5. A buckle as defined in claim 1, wherein the fixed plane surfaces ofthe buckle body are formed by a pair of spaced plates which areinterconnected by rivets or like connecting means, said connecting meansforming guides for the longitudinal edges of the locking tongue and forthe pivot axis of the pivotally mounted latch member.

6. A buckle as defined in claim 5, wherein the plates are provided withregistering longitudinal slots for the projection provided in the sleeveand formed by a pin extending through the buckle body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,867,024 1/1959 Sepe.

FOREIGN PATENTS 11,820 5/1910 France.

BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner

